Growth key for Int'l Game earnings

WilliamSpain

CHICAGO (CBS.MW) -- International Game Technology is the 800-pound gorilla of the slot-machine business and one of Wall Street's top performers.

A seemingly insatiable appetite for gambling and for newer, more sophisticated one-armed bandits has fueled the Reno-based company's phenomenal revenue and earnings growth for years, amid the pastime's rapid expansion.

Investors will get their look at IGT's
IGT, -1.17%
latest quarterly numbers before the bell Tuesday. The company is expected to earn 33 cents per share, up 15 percent on revenue growth of 11 percent to $606 million, according to analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

But its outlook, more than the last quarter's bottom line, is apt to garner the most investor focus.

The good news for IGT, wrote Robin Farley of UBS in a note to clients earlier this month, is that the company should continue to dominate the market for quite some time.

On the other hand, the "bad news is slow industry growth for next two to three quarters," she said. "With 70 percent market share, IGT's growth relies on the industry's growth, so the next two to three quarters may be somewhat sideways for IGT in terms of stock price."

As for growth, "we expect the December and March quarters may show down-earnings comparisons to the prior year, somewhat below the consensus view of 8 percent."

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